Improved Menus

[democrite]

Hello,

I think calibre has grown enough in features such that it can be difficult to find all that is available. Maybe more functions should be available through menus, such as is the case for most apps? For example:

File (or book):
- add books moved here
- edit metadata
- convert
- save to disk
- all menus from right click book

Calibre library renamed to Library

View
- tag browser
- search bar
- cover grid
- various UX elements, like search bar
- etc.

Preferences moved to File submenu?

Not necessarily that the above is exactly how it should be yet I think not everyone is going to know how to customize the toolbar, or other, and the major functions should be accessible from menus as with any other app. Doesn't that also add to accessibility? Same for Viewer.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by democrite

Spoiler:

Hello,

I think calibre has grown enough in features such that it can be difficult to find all that is available. Maybe more functions should be available through menus, such as is the case for most apps? For example:

File (or book):
- add books moved here
- edit metadata
- convert
- save to disk
- all menus from right click book

Calibre library renamed to Library

View
- tag browser
- search bar
- cover grid
- various UX elements, like search bar
- etc.

Preferences moved to File submenu?

Not necessarily that the above is exactly how it should be yet I think not everyone is going to know how to customize the toolbar, or other, and the major functions should be accessible from menus as with any other app. Doesn't that also add to accessibility? Same for Viewer.

No way. As things stand now, I can access the things I use most often with one click; if they were moved to a menu, I'd have to constantly use two clicks. Nope, that's certainly not user-friendly.

If they could still be added to the toolbar and accessed with one click, then they might also be in a menu somewhere, I wouldn't care. But I certainly want to access them just with one click.

[theducks]

I use all 3 locations:
The Menubar is Preferences, Help, Fetch news
The main toolbar is mostly for things that affect the Library (1 or more books)
The second toolbar affects A BOOK
Some things are just on the Context menu
(And things I do not use are not placed)

[kovidgoyal]

The major functions are WAY more accessible now than buried under a menu. And the previous iteration of the viewer used to have menus and buttons that were always visible and I would get endless complaints about them. Now I get endless complaints that they arent. I am done iterating on it.

[nabsltd]

I've used Calibre since version 2.85, and I don't remember ever seeing a menu. Everything is on the toolbar, which makes it easy to use.

For the few functions I need to use every once in a while and aren't covered by the right-click menu on a book, the "Favorites" plugin allows me to keep them close without taking up a lot of space.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by nabsltd

I've used Calibre since version 2.85, and I don't remember ever seeing a menu. Everything is on the toolbar, which makes it easy to use.

For the few functions I need to use every once in a while and aren't covered by the right-click menu on a book, the "Favorites" plugin allows me to keep them close without taking up a lot of space.

Only the Main Toolbar is DEFAULT. The others are added-changed from Preferences: toolbars

[democrite]

As with pretty much all apps and **recommended** standard I'D guidelines provided by all operating systems or gui environmnts, such wouldn't be taking away from toolbars or window controls but merely making more or less everything important available on menus.

How is a beginner to know where to start? Does any other app developer say read the manual. Or if i forget what keyboard shortcuts are for what, i could merely look at the menu to see them plus with well organized menus, I could learn of any common actions and app functions i may not yet know. All apps use menus for a reason. Unfortunate you are not convinced or others complain of such. I am merely asking to adopt standard guidelines and convention.

[theducks]

If in doubt: Press F1
That is basic help in most windows app, since forever (Win 3 and before) Many of my DOS app use it before Windows

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by democrite

As with pretty much all apps and **recommended** standard I'D guidelines provided by all operating systems or gui environmnts, such wouldn't be taking away from toolbars or window controls but merely making more or less everything important available on menus.

How is a beginner to know where to start? Does any other app developer say read the manual. Or if i forget what keyboard shortcuts are for what, i could merely look at the menu to see them plus with well organized menus, I could learn of any common actions and app functions i may not yet know. All apps use menus for a reason. Unfortunate you are not convinced or others complain of such. I am merely asking to adopt standard guidelines and convention.

- but I've more or less given up on the issue.

If you add Preferences to The Menubar, you can remove everything from The main toolbar*, but the Menubar is still a click-me bar. On Windows (80%+ of users) a conventional menu bar can be driven from the keyboard via Alt+? sequences and arrow keys.

Whilst there's a user configurable keyboard shortcut for just about everything - most people have a limited to capacity to remember the ones that they don't use frequently.

Observation: I can navigate my way around the arguably more complex Tag browser and detached Book Details panels with the keyboard but not the Toolbars. It might be useful to have settings for the Main Toolbar and Menubar similar to that provided for the Tag Browser - see Allow the Tag browser to have keyboard focus in L&F->Tag Browser.

But that doesn't address the issues of discoverabilty and coherence - e.g. Create catalogue in the Conversion actions menu Then there's Restart in Debug and Without Plugins in the Preferences actions, whilst vanilla Restart is a shag on a rock in a separate single action toolbar item.

* The same doesn't hold true if you add Preferences to The context menu for the books in the calibre library, it must be in the Main Toolbar or Menubar

Originally Posted by theducks

If in doubt: Press F1
That is basic help in most windows app, since forever (Win 3 and before) Many of my DOS app use it before Windows

The original F1 help was contextual - if I pressed F1 whilst the cursor was in the "Part number" control (widget in modern parlance) I would get the instructions for entering a Part number - usually via a link to a page in a local Compiled Help (CHM) document.

If I press F1 in calibre, my web browser springs to life showing the first page of the calibre User Manual, its search function is near useless so I download the PDF and discover its 430 pages long.

Chalk and cheese.

I project managed the development of several MC/LOB systems that specified the provision of context sensitive help. Coordinating the activities of the technical writers and the software engineers was 'a challenge'. This was a major factor in its demise - tooltips are an inferior substitute.

I assigned F1 to None soon after I installed calibre, also for other programs. At one stage I removed the F1 key, I might do it again next time that MS chatbot thing sticks its oar in.

BR

[democrite]

Following conventions that have been refined for decades, seems no amount of speech will convince those that cannot be convinced. As they say, some get it others don't.

Agree or not, I think it's up to devs to follow them good or not; and revise apps as such guidelines are updated.